1. Field
The present disclosure generally relates to methods and apparatus for formatting a header in a communication frame, and more specifically to formatting headers within a communication frame to optimize the frame for either processing or header size.
2. Background
In particular wireless communication systems, signals are transmitted in a frame format. Within the frame format, information is packetized and formatted according to actual payload data to be communicated over the communication system and other overhead information that is used for communicating various other information particular to the communication system, such as information used for timing acquisition and decoding the frame, as examples. This overhead information is typically arranged into a header packet within the frames, and associated with a corresponding payload data packet to which the header information pertains.
In some types of communication having low data rate (and small packet sizes), such as Voice-over-IP (VoIP) for example, it is desirable to minimize the header overhead information in order to increase system capacity, such as supporting more VoIP calls in system). Additionally, it is noted that at the media access control (MAC) layers and higher, frames are organized such that the headers are formatted in order of processing immediately before their associated data packets or payloads. With communications having higher data rates and larger packet sizes, however, the header size naturally increases for processing of the larger packets at the receiver. Utilizing a typical format with headers organized for processing before each corresponding data packet that is favorable for low data rate communications, tends to slow processing of the larger packets and their larger headers at a receiver during high data rate communications. Accordingly, a need exists to accommodate both low data rate communications and high data rate communications in a communication system, while allowing a mechanism to improve the efficiency of header processing for high data rate communications.